M- 1967 Driscoll Auger TRINITY OPEN Psych Prog Fusion

$

50

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Clean minty 1967 first pressing VINYL!

                   BRIAN AUGER ~ JULIE DISCOLL

                   THE TRINITY

                        OPEN

 ...USA - Pink White & Tan ATCO - SD 33 258  

One of the icons of London's underground jazzy mod scene, Brian Auger puzzled more than one music critic bringing this crossover to perfection during the mid-late sixties. 1967's "Open" sees Auger switch to a more hippy acid R&B injected fusion with the help of Julie Driscoll - his female partner already featured in his earlier project, The Steampacket. Driscoll performs in her perfectly trendy disjointed vocal style over Auger's Hammond organ aural carpet to createsome interesting pop r'n'b tunes culminating in the fabulous cover version of Donovan's "Season Of The Witch". There are most amazing moments within the record including swirling, churning arrangements - not unlike a psychedelic Phil Spector - is the ground work for Driscoll's steely vocals. She come across like a sexy Dusty Springfield with a passionate performance. It's truly one of the great lost British albums of the era, and is worth the price of the record. The opening track - "IN & OUT" is the piece that grabs the listeners attention, and is delivered like a kind of Booker T groove that includes the octaved guitar of Gary Boyle.  The tantalising sounds of Auger's Hammond B3 organ insinuate their presence, until about a minute and a half into the piece, where Brian unleashes a few of the fireworks he's rightly famous for - stabs and slides based on some of Jimmy Smith's techniques, but much more aggressive.

Isola Natale has much more impact, as the bass is brought higher in the mix, and a heavy groove is settled into immediately. Boyle's insistent octave guitar keeps stinging along and some progressions follow suit, but then launches into some sharp blues licks, making this a  fusion effort. The big event, of course, is the return of Auger's B3, there's still a lot of fire being delivered here, and no unnecessary bluster. 

Everything then goes cuckoo on Black Cat - quite literally, and a rich, deep, funky groove is delivered with aplomb - 'swinging London sixties' groovy, baby, grooooovy. This whole piece is concentrated on the groove, but that is not to say that this is all there is, because there are plenty of delicious little details, and the band rocks like a steam train on a particularly twisty bit of track. It kinda resembles something by Traffic, but much more groovy.

There then follows the delicate piece called Lament for Miss Baker - a quite wonderful change of style, and side one is rounded off by Goodbye Jungle Telegraph, which begins with quasi-tribal drums and overblown recorder, which increases in intensity as the groove twists and turns, delivers a round of surprises, and emphatically dances around barefoot, putting me in mind of some of the more experimental Krautrock bands who would appear later in the decade. The wailing music is pure hip jazz, but the percussion-driven music, including an incredibly percussive B3, puts in mind of some of the bongo-backed hippy music that was so popular in psychedelic circles at the time.

If you take this as a percussive piece, it works spectacularly, with nice pathos in the highs, lows and dramatic curves.

Flipping the album over reveals a heavy version of Tramp, Auger and the band more than do the piece justice, though, fusing rock, soul and jazz into a delightful proto-prog edifice - and here we hear Driscoll for the first time, attempting a kind of Janis Joplin meets Grace Slick style vocal - quite successfully.

This is followed up with another Stax-soul/Blue Note derived number, Why (Am I Treated so Bad), delivered lugubriously rather than laid back, but still just as enjoyable as the Booker T-backed original (even if it is tricky to determine the difference).

A Kind of Love In is the kind of thing that Auger deserves all the recognition he's recently been getting for - that familiar insistent single note rhythmic ostinato that makes and drives the piece will either get on your nervers in no time, or keep your head bobbing and your foot tapping throughout.

A warped Big Ben chime then introduces Break It Up, which really should be kept a secret from the samplers. Driscoll's vocals sound more assured with this original number, going into Aretha Franklin territory in style, if not spirit. The vocal improvisations intertwine well with the piano, and the fadeout comes all too soon.

The album is wrapped up with Season of the Witch. Driscoll attempts to vocalise with some of the lines. Just before 3 minutes into the piece, there is a surprising brilliant delicate and highly expressive B3 playing, demonstrating that Auger was no Smith imitator, but a great interpretor of his style, which is superbly built back into the song over the course of the next two and a half minutes. 

In summary, some real highs and no real filler. An interesting document from the cauldron that eventually produced Progressive Rock, which was London's Progressive music scene in the late 1960s. This album is a welcome addition to fans of the Hammond B3 organ sound, as Auger gets almost unheard of emotion out of the instrument - frequently.

1. In And Out
2. Isola Natale
3. Black Cat
4. Lament For Miss Baker
5. Goodbye Jungle Telegraph
6. Tramp
7. Why (Am I Treated So Bad)
8. Kind Of Love In
9. Break It Up
10. Season Of The Witch

CONDITION: The thick gatefold cover is "EX" (excellent), really solid and NICE, no problems, a beauty in ones collection...

The vinyl is even a little better, clean, ALL glossy M- TOP LEVEL !  

                keeper copy!

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All imperfections are noted both cover & record